


This Is Life In Colour

by Padasexi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Color, Destiel - Freeform, M/M, black and white, colour, tumblr post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padasexi/pseuds/Padasexi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything is black and white. The people, the streets the buildings everything. Mute Castiel Novak doesn't know a different world. The doctors can't explain it.<br/>One night, his sister, Anna, brings her boyfriend, Dean Winchester over for dinner. Cas instantly likes him, the warm but scratchy voice, the millions of freckles and those eyes that are somehow, not grey, but green. So bright that it makes Cas' heart stutter in his chest, and words to want to pour out of his lips.<br/>Him and Dean form a strong friendship, which one night, blossoms into something filled with colour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is Life In Colour

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a text post on tumblr about this whole idea of meeting your soul mate in a black and white world and suddenly everything is colourful. So... well, I liked it.  
> I hope you do too :)  
> P.S. I LOVE MUTE CAS! DEAL WITH IT!

Cas sighed and dumped the load of books he was carrying on his bed. He collapsed next to it tucking a knee underneath himself and blowing a loose strand of hair out of his face. So much homework.

 

_Well, that's high school for you._

 

He pulled out his trig workbook and got to reading.

"Castiel! Come down here! We've got guests for dinner." He had forgotten that his sister invited her boyfriend over to meet the family tonight.

He jumped up immediately and fixed the collar of his shirt in the mirror and straightened his thick nerd glasses. His hair was messy, but oh well. It always was, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

He nibbled on his nails a little. He doesn't have many friends, just a few that sometimes say "hi" in the hall at school, that's all. And why was that? Because he was just too shy.

 

_You can do this._

 

He finally got the courage up and opened his door, gingerly padding down the stairs into the living room.  
He heard a man's laugh drift over from the dining area. That must be him, Anna's boyfriend... Dean. Yeah, his name was Dean. Cas walked over to the kitchen where he saw his mother conversing with a tall boy who was facing away from him.

 

"Cas, this is Dean." His mother said when she noticed him come in, gesturing to the boy in a leather jacket standing a few feet away and confirming his suspicions of the boy's name.

He turned and Cas inhaled sharply. His eyes. They're... green. How did Cas know that's what the colour was?

"Hey buddy," Dean said stepping closer "you look like you've seen a ghost." he added, concern knitting his eyebrows together.

Cas opened his mouth to reply before realizing he can't speak and groaning in annoyance.

"He's mute." His mother whispered softly.

Cas looked at her, hard.

"Sorry." She breathed and walked away awkwardly, leaving Cas to face Dean alone.

Cas leaned over and picked a notepad off of the kitchen counter near him.

 _I'm fine, thank you_ He wrote and turned it so Dean could read. The teen nodded and smiled.

"Okay, cool. What's your name?" He asked and Cas turned the pad and quickly scribbled his name on it.

"Castiel." Dean said his eyes lighting up. They were so green.

_What's so great about that?_

"Nothing, it's just a beautiful name." Dean exclaimed, winking at the shorter boy.

Cas gasped and looked away as a delicate blush creeped up on him. God, he blushed a lot.

"Okay boys, dinner." Someone said from the dining room and Dean turned to leave. Cas stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before blinking and following Dean's footsteps.

 

* * *

"You applied for college?" Cas' father asked sipping on his wine.

"Not yet." Dean replied "But I want to be an engineer. Or a car mechanic."

His fathers eyebrows rose "Interesting." He said licking his lips.

"What do you drive?"

"1967 Chevy Impala." Dean replied straightening in his seat "She's beautiful, fixed her up myself. My dad gave her to me on my sixteenth birthday, all rundown and all. But I got right into her.

Cas looked up to see those green eyes fill with excitement and what seemed like a spark of fondness.

Looking down at his plate, he realized he could see a slight green tinge to the beans. He stared at them for a while before piercing one with his fork and examining it.

Anna, who was sitting next to him bumped him with her elbow. Cas dropped the fork and felt heat rush up into his cheeks.

"Castiel." His father grumbled. Cas nodded, silently apologizing.

"Can't see colours, can't speak. Nothing. Useless." He heard the older man whisper under his nose.

Cas plunged a hand into his pocket and fished out a pen scribbling _Excuse me_ on his napkin and getting up from the table to head upstairs.

Before leaving, he glanced at Dean. Where he saw something very much so unexpected.The expression Dean was wearing, it looked almost... sad.

He pounced up the stairs, eager to get to his room. Useless. Always useless.

He closed the door behind him and slid down the soft wood until he was sitting on the carpet that covered the floor of his room. Pulling his fingers through his hair he pushed back the urge to cry. He was such a child sometimes.

 

"Is there a bathroom here?" He heard the muffled sound of Dean's voice drifting up through the floor.

"Yeah. Upstairs and on the right." Someone replied, which was followed by the sound of a chair scraping against the floorboards.

Then came the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Cas sniffed and wiped at his eyes slipping his hands under his glasses. He heard someone exhale on the other side of the door.

"Hey," Dean whispered against it softly knocking "I can see your shadow at the door."

Cas sighed and got up pressing his fingers into his eyes to push the tears back and cool his eyes down a little. He cracked the door open and raised his eyebrows.

"You okay?" Dean asked and Cas couldn't help but stare into those green eyes.

He shouldn't be talking to him, Dean had heard what his father said about him. Dean knows that Cas is, just a useless being that takes up space. He nodded softly.

"Let me in?" He added.

Cas thought about it for a few seconds before opening the door wider and stepping back so Dean could come in.

"What was that?" Dean asked once Cas had closed the door.

Cas exhaled and turned to his desk, where he picked up his iPod and opened notes.

 _What do you mean?_ He typed.

"What your father said."

Cas looked up at him and shrugged, typing _I can't see colours. Everything is black and white._

Dean's eyes widened "Really?" Cas nodded.

"So... my eyes. You don't know what colour they are?" Cas stared at him.

 _Of course I do_ , he thought to himself. But he couldn't tell Dean that. What if Dean tells his father and his father would think Cas is faking this whole "black and white" thing. That would mean another bruise to add to the collection.

 _You should go back down_ , He typed instead.

Dean nodded and reached a hand out to pat Cas' shoulder. His eyes widened at the contact and Dean pulled away mouthing "sorry" at him and leaving to go back downstairs.

 

 _What the hell was that?_ He thought to himself. Dean had actually cared, and come to make sure Cas was okay. Cas didn't deserve that. He just took up space and was a burden for everyone else.

 

After he heard the chatter downstairs start again, he collapsed onto his bed and winced when the edge of one of the books he had dumped on there earlier dug into a specific delicate spot at Cas' hip, where his father had hit him a few days ago when he got frustrated because of Cas' clumsiness.  
He moved to clear the clutter off and place them on the desk.

He lay on top of his blankets, closing his eyes to relax. He dosed a little, but after he heard the sound of the front door closing and an engine revving away, he fell asleep.

 

"It's all Cas' fault." Cas heard Anna's voice approach the doorway, which woke him up. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep.

"Dean will think that the whole family is as bad as him."

"Calm down, Anna." he heard Gabriel reply "He didn't do anything."

Gabriel was 19 and was studying to become a teacher at the local college. He was Cas' favourite sibling, as he protected Cas and wasn't mean to him all the time like Lucifer, Anna and his father. There was also Michael, who lived in California. Cas hadn't seen Michael in a few years now, as he was married and expecting and had broken off contact with this screwed up family a long time ago. Lucifer was Michael's twin, which was hard to believe, as from what Cas remembered from when he was younger, Michael had been kind to him, unlike Lucifer.

Cas made a note in his mind to thank Gabriel in the morning. Right now, he just wanted to get to sleep.

 

*    *    *

 

In the morning, Cas awoke to the sound of his alarm going off next to his bed.

He jumped up and like lightning turned it off so it wouldn't wake anyone else. He glanced around and saw his glasses laying abandoned on the floor and picked them up sliding then onto his nose.

That's better.

He silently tiptoed across the hall and into the bathroom to shower. Closed the door gently and slipping out of the clothes he had fallen asleep on last night, he dumped them into the dirty laundry hamper.

He turned the shower on and adjusted the temperature so it was just right, he didn't want to hurt the delicate bruises on his body. He stepped in and let the warm water surround him, ignoring the slight burn he felt at his shoulder blades from last week.

After scrubbing himself clean, Cas got out and wrapped a towel around his waist and brushed his teeth. He picked up his comb from the bench and made his way back to his room, where he slipped on a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. His usual.

He looked out the window to see that the sun was shining and decided to leave his sweater at home today. He sat down on the bed and slipped on his sneakers.

After combing his hair and failing at taming his hair, Cas slid the books he had left on his desk into a backpack slinging it over his shoulder and making his way downstairs where he could hear the sound of a coffee machine, frying and chatter.

"So Dean's moved schools as of today?" He heard his mother ask as he stepped off of the last step on the stair case.

"Ugh, yeah." His sister replied "to Lawrence High. Same as Cas." He could hear the disgust that seeped from her voice.

When walking into the kitchen, Cas avoided her glare and moved to the fridge where he had put his lunch the day before when he had prepared it.

"How'd you sleep?" His mother asked.

Apart from Gabriel, she was the only one who didn't taunt him about his disabilities, just stayed out of it as to not anger John.

Cas nodded slightly at her, smiling softly to say that he slept well. He stuffed the am and lettuce sandwich into his bag and walked towards the front door.

"Have a good day." Anna smirked from the breakfast counter over the top of her coffee.

Cas ignored her and closed the door behind him.

 

He started school a bit earlier than his siblings, who went to a private school a town over, so he left early every day (also before his father got up). But he didn’t mind, on the contrary, he enjoyed walking to school sometimes. Especially on a warm day like this.

He listened to the sound of the soles of his shoes hitting the pavement until he heard a car stop beside him. Cas looked up to see a splash of green staring back at him. He jumped a little at the difference but calmed down enough to wave shyly at Dean.

"Lawrence High?" The teen asked through the rolled down window, his head dipped so he could see Cas, who nodded.

"Get in." He said leaning over and opening the passenger door.

Cas lifted his eyebrows but Dean motioned for him to hurry up, so he did.

"How was your night?" Dean grinned once he put the car into drive, glancing at Cas, who once again nodded.

"I didn't notice how blue your eyes are last night."

Cas' eyebrows rose.

"Oh, sorry." But he shouldn't be, just because Castiel had no idea what blue looked like. Well, he used to, but couldn't remember colour anymore.

Cas had never been told he had blue eyes before. He wondered what that looked like. Wait, how had he known it was green that he was seeing? How did he know that was the name of the colour?

Cas shook his head and gently placed his hand on Dean's arm, informing him that he was okay. He didn't normally enjoy touching people, but Dean seemed like a touchable person.

He then fished his iPod out of his pocket and typed _I didn't know that._

"Really? No one had told you what colour your eyes are?" Cas shook his head, ashamed.

"Don't be shy." Dean smiled. Cas couldn't help but smile back and touch his hair, lifting his eyebrows in question.

"Your hair colour?" Dean asked. Cas nodded.

"It's a dark brown. Like, it looks almost black most of the time, but in the sunlight it gets these slight tinges of brown." Dean said when they stopped in the parking lot outside the school, touching Cas' hair.

Cas noticed that Dean didn't look over at him when giving the detailed description of his hair, and his heart skipped a beat.

Cas gasped slightly at the touch and Dean retracted his hand blushing. Cas mouthed a silent _Thank you_ at him.

"No problem buddy," Dean replied getting out of the car "mind showing me around? It's my first day here." Dean asked.

 _Why would he want a mute to show him around?_ Which is exactly what he typed on his iPod before showing Dean.

"Because you're awesome." Dean said, the dark tinge on his face deepening. Cas smiled widely and nodded walking over to the front doors of the school, Dean in tow.

 

* * *

 

Cas walked out the back doors of the school and towards the tree at the very edge of the oval that he always sat at to read and listen to music.

He knew Dean wasn't going to join him, as he was handsome and Cas had heard the girls talking about "how hot the new guy" was. He didn't mind, really, he was just a nerd.

But what surprised him, was when the rushing footsteps behind slowed next to him to matched his pace just as the smell of leather and pine filled his nose.

"Hey, Cas," He heard Dean say and he looked over "mind if I hang out with you?"

Cas lifted his eyebrows and nodded after a while of consideration.

"Thanks." Dean said as Cas sat on the now slightly green grass beneath the big oak tree.

He pulled out his iPod and typed _Why aren't you with your other friends? I'm sure they're much more interesting than me._

"Because I like you more." He grinned and dug a sandwich out of his bag. Cas tilted his head in confusion.

_Why?_

"Because." Dean blushed avoiding Cas' apparently blue gaze. He watched Dean as he bit into his sandwich and chewed on it deliberately.

"Man, Sammy makes good sandwiches." He exclaimed with a full mouth.

 _Who's Sammy?_ Cas typed.

"Oh, he's my younger brother. He doesn't go to this school. See, he didn't get kicked out of the private school your siblings go to."

_You got kicked out?_

"Yeah, um... Just don't tell your sister, okay? One of my so called "friends" had told someone else that I didn't only like girls, if you know what I mean." Cas' eyes widened with the realization.

Should he tell Dean? He nodded and pointed at his chest.

"You too?" Dean asked a bit too eagerly. Cas nodded.

"Cool."

 

*     *     *

 

"Thanks for today, Cas." Dean said when he caught up with Cas outside his classroom. Dean was a senior and Cas a junior, so they had no classes together. Except for the odd PE lesson. Cas smiled and nodded.

"Do you um..." Dean hesitated "want to hangout now?" Cas froze and his jaw dropped. No one had ever asked him to hang out with them before.

 _Are you sure?_ He typed on his iPod, which he now never let go of.

"Yeah, of course I am." Cas' smile widened and he nodded.

"Okay, cool." Dean said "What do you want to do?" He asked. Cas shrugged.

"Do you like the movies?" To which Cas nodded enthusiastically, his glasses slipping on his nose. Dean chuckled and reached up to fix them. Cas felt heat spread from beneath his collar and over his cheeks.

"Off to the movies then." Dean said leading the way to his car.

 

* * *

 

Dean liked action movies. So they decided to go see an old X-men they were replaying. He bought a jumbo box of popcorn and told Cas they would share it. Cas thanked him using his iPod. He wished he could tell Dean just how grateful he was for this.

As the movie played, Cas couldn't help but stare at the beautiful features of Dean's face. He could now see slight tinges of green in the grass and trees, but nothing was as bright as those shiny eyes.

He was counting the freckles over Dean's nose when he heard a moan come from behind him. His head snapped up and back at the familiar voice.

And there, at the very back of the theater sat Anna and some punk douche. They were making out, the guys hands all over his sister's breasts.

"Oh crap." She breathed and jumped up at the sight of her younger brother.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Are you on a date with your faggot boy toy-" She cut off as she realized who his "faggot boy toy" was.

"Oh shit. Dean." She said covering her mouth.

"Hello, Anna." He growled through his teeth.

"Oh, baby. I love you. I don't even know this guy. He just suddenly jumped me-"

"Cut it out, slut." Dean said standing up. He looked down at Cas who understood, and had also gotten off his seat, heading down the aisle and out of the room.

"We're over." Dean snapped before rushing Cas out.

 

Once they were in the car, it was dark and Dean's green eyes were swimming in liquid. Cas didn't know what to do, so he reached out and tenderly patted Dean's leg. Dean looked up then and stared at Cas.

"It's not like I even liked her that much I just-" He cut off as Cas' body leaned forward and hugged Dean around the waist. Cas could hear the other boy inhale and he squeezed reassuringly.

"Thanks, Cas." Dean whispered against Cas' head, causing his hair to tickle the teens nose. Cas heard Dean sneeze softly and laughed a little. He didn't know he could make a sound while laughing. Dean immediately pulled away and stared at him.

"Cas..." Dean said, biting at his lower lip "Why are you mute?"

Cas inhaled.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking that. We barely know each other and all that, I-" Cas broke Dean off by placing a hand on his mouth. Dean watched Cas nod and sagged slightly.

Cas pulled out his iPod and began typing. He didn't know why he trusted Dean, in Dean's own words, they barely knew each other, but he did. Somehow. Plus, he was pretty sure he had a tiny crush on Dean. Oh, God. He can't have a crush on his sister's ex-boyfriend.

 

_I'm adopted. My old family... they were crazy. I was five, and they locked me in a tiny box with a giant spider. They knew I was terrified of spiders. I could hear them laugh outside the box for hours as I screamed myself hoarse inside. The spider was climbing all over me, I could feel its hairy legs everywhere. After a while though, I passed out and woke up on my bed. But I couldn't say a word. They asked me if I was still afraid of spiders and I nodded and tried to say that I was even more afraid of them now. But i couldn't. I tried to speak, but it just wouldn't come out. I tried so so hard, Dean. So hard. They all laughed at me and left my room chattering about how really useless I was. I couldn't help them at work, as they owned a spider shop, yeah, they exist, and now couldn't even speak either._

_"So they decided a different way to cure me of my arachnophobia. They took me to a room with a giant projector and tied me down. They played a video where pictures of spiders just kept flashing and flashing. Some were right on the camera, their eyes shiny and bulging at me and their mouths open. Some of the pictures were colourful, some not. That also went on for hours, but this time, I didn't pass out. They repeated this everyday. for years, until one day, I fell asleep in the chair and woke up, not seeing any colour._

_"No one can explain it. After that, I ran away and some police officer picked me up off the side of the street and took to the station. I was taken to the doctor who told me I was mute because of something traumatic I had experienced, as my voice box was intact. As if I didn't already know that. I told him about the colour blindness and he was amazed. Yes, amazed. He wanted to know everything so he could study me, so I told him no and left the office. They took me to another doctor who couldn't explain it. Then another, and another. No one knew why I only saw in black and white. I refused to be tested upon and said I was fine with not seeing colours._

_"Then I was adopted by my current parents. Most of my familly also thinks I am useless. But I'm not. I can show you I'm not useless, Dean. I really can._

Cas exhaled.

He desperately wanted to add that he was fine with not seeing colours until he had met Dean. Who he wanted to know the hair colour of, and the shades of his freckles and the stubble on his chin.

But he didn't.

He also didn't mention the fact that he knew Dean's eye colour, he thought it could be too much, and maybe Dean would realize that Cas really did like him. A lot. Although he'd only met him the day before.

He handed the device to Dean and turned away, staring out the window. He didn't want to see Dean feel sorry for him. It wasn't his fault.

After a few seconds, he heard Dean inhale and looked over. Dean was staring at him, wide eyed.

"Really?" Cas nodded. Dean proceeded to tug Cas' sleeve closer and hugged him tight.

The hug was nice, feeling the warmth of Dean's body against his face and chest. If he listened closely, he could hear and feel the speeding sound of Dean's heart.

Suddenly he felt Dean tilt Cas' face upwards Dean placed his hands on either sides of his face, embracing it. All Cas could do was just stare into those emerald lights in Dean's eyes. His head was swimming with a thousand things.

The main one being, _pull away. Right now. This is too intimate._

But there were others as well. The ones that made heat pool in the pit of Cas' stomach and his knees to turn to jelly.

"I know you're not useless, Cas." He whispered.

He watched as Dean leaned closer and touched his lips to Cas'. Even though it felt like a million different warm and fuzzy things, Cas was confused, and stiffened, widening his eyes.

Dean pulled away and covered his mouth. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me." He said turning away.

Cas suddenly felt courage bubble up inside him and he placed his fingers on Dean's jaw, pulling softly so that Dean would look at him.

He pushed himself to his limit and tried to open his mouth. He pushed and pushed but nothing came out and he just sagged dropping his hands.

He stared at them, laying in his lap for a few minutes, feeling the intense weight of Dean's gaze on him.

He felt Dean shift and saw bigger hands cover his own, and looked up shyly between the locks of hair that had fallen into his face.

"What did you want to say?" Dean asked him quietly. Cas stared.

He then straightened and crowded over Dean, pushing him against the door and resting his forehead in the warmth of Dean's. He looked down at Dean's lips and his tongue darted out to moisten his own.

 _This_ , he mouthed leaning in and kissing Dean.

This time, both of them were moving into the kiss. Dean's mouth opened practically straight away after Cas had touched his lips to Dean's, and Cas used his tongue to touch the other boy's.

Dean moaned beneath him and pressed the palms of his hands against Cas' back, pulling him closer.

Cas reached up and scratched gently at the hair at Dean's nape before pulling Dean in and deepening the kiss.

It wasn't enough. He wanted Dean even closer, he wanted to be one with him.

But he wouldn't be.

 

Not yet.

 

He hoped Dean liked him enough to maybe stay with Cas.


End file.
